Ok let me be the first to line up for this one. I think you may have a
point regarding definitions of intelligence, et al. And certainly athletics
bring more money into many universities than research grants and alumni
donations. But if we consider education the hallmark of the purpose of the
university, I think (and Lord knows I'm a fairly obsessive sports fan) that
we are misguided and essentially misallocating funds if we award
scholarships to "students" who do not at least meet the cutoff for academic
admission to a university.
Consider this: what message are we sending youth in the inner cities and
other low-SES backgrounds? We're telling them they are better off working
on their jumpshot in the playground than their homework in the library,
starting from early childhood... because the collegedoor will be open if
you can hit the shot, and there's more of a chance at scholarhsip money as
well (not to mention a much higher-paying job if you get out and get to be
a lottery pick in the NBA draft.
(oh, and by the way, how much of all that money that the sports programs
bring in goes back into the sports programs, as opposed to being allocated
into the general university community?)
I could go on but others will want a turn.
(still watching the tourney despite it all)
David W.
At 12:45 PM 3/11/99 -0500, Michael Sylvester wrote:
>
>The SAT is irrelevant to atheletics.Shooting hoops,scoring touchdowms
>are separate skills from the Eurocentric penchant for verbal and written
>mind games.We should give atheletic scholarships to those individuals
>who have the skills for those enterprises.
>We need to broaden our definition of intelligence to include "hoops"
>(a function of the right side of the brain) and "hip hop".
>
>Michael Sylvester
>Daytona Beach,Florida
> "when everybody thinks alike,nobody is thinking".
>
>
>
David Wasieleski, Ph.D.
Department of Psychology and Counseling
Valdosta State University
Valdosta, GA 31698
912/333-5930
http://chiron.valdosta.edu/dtwasieleski
"There's a lotta people saying we'd be better off dead
Don't feel like Satan but I am to them
So I try to forget it any way that I can..."
--Neil Young
"Rockin' in the Free World"
